Improvement in change-boxes for railroad conductors



j Wifhesses J. B. SLAWSGN.

Improvement in Change-Box for. Railroad Conductolrs.

No. 130,756. Patented Aug. 20, I872.

Inuemor,

[M FIIOTd-LITHOG/MP/l/C 50- M X/OSBOR/VEIS PROCESS) UNITED STATES PATENT Grrron.

JOHN BgSLAWSON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT lN CHANGE-BOXES FOR RAILROAD CONDUCTOR S.

Specification forming part ofLetters Patent No. 130,756, dated August 20, 1872.

SPECIFICATION.

New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain Improvements in Drivers or Gonductors Change- Box, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing making part of this specification, in which Figure 1 represents a rear view, in perspective, of a change box having my improvements applied thereto; and Fig. 2, a transverse section of the same. Fig. 3 represents a view, in perspective, of the clamp detached from the box.

The invention relates to that class of changeb oxes now in use by drivers or conductors in making change for passengers on street-cars, omnibuses, 860.; and the invention consists in providing the box with a means of securing it to the cars, 850., so that the driver, 820., may, without removing the box, temporarily leave his post, which he could not otherwise do without rendering it liable to be stolen.

To enable others skilled in the art to make, construct, and use my improved box and its attachments, I will now proceed to describe its parts in detail, omitting a particular description of such parts as are non-essential to a full understanding of the present improvement.

The box itself may be made of any suitable material-such as tin, galvanized-iron, &c.-- and of any suitable form as, for example, that shown in the drawing, Fig. 1. Like othor boxes of the same kind it consists of a cover, A, hinged to the body B of the box proper. The cover or lid A is provided on its three unattached sides with a flange, C, so that when closed down the flange will overlap the upper edge of the box and thus protect the interior from rain, &c. The hinged side of the lid is also provided with a flange, a, as well to protect the joint from the rain, 850., as to act as a stop for the lid when raised to make change. On the upper side of the lid, at the front, is secured a weighted lip or projecting thumbpiece, b, by which to raise the lid when required. This is made thick and heavy, that by its gravity the box may be kept closed when unlocked, as otherwise the wind might raise the lid and scatter both money and tickets. The box is provided with a trunk-lock, so that the driver or conductor may look it when necessary-as, for instance, when about temporarily to leave the car for any purpose whatsoever. The interior of the box is divided into dilferent compartments, as is usual in car change-boxes, so as to hold the cash in one compartment and packages of money and tickets for the making of change in the others, each compartment holding packages only of the same amount. To the rear side of the box are secured, in any suitable manner, one or more hooked supports, E. These supports are intended to hook over a hat bar, F, made fast to the front of the car, or to the inner side of the dash board, and thereby support the change-box. One of the hooked supports, by preference the middle one, has its hooked end formed into a staple, G, which is intended to pass through an opening or slot, 0, cut or otherwise formed in and near the outer end of a clamp-hasp, H. This hasp is hinged or pivoted atits rear endto the under side of the hooked support E, and is provided with a depression on its upper side of a width and depth sufficient to receive the bar ,so as to embrace it firmly between the hasp and the under side of the hooked support E and thereby secure 7 the change-box to the bar F,in which position it is held by means of thestaple-bolt of a padlock, I, when locked.

It will now be apparent that the change-box when locked and secured to the bar F, as just described, may be left to itself for a short time by the driver or conductor without great danger of its being removed or its contents ab stracted by a passing thief; and from what has already been said, it will also be apparent that the outer hooks E and bar F,for supporting the box, may be entirely dispensed with without altering the principle of theinvention,

provided a shelf is substituted in their place: in which event, instead of attaching the hasp to the under side of the hook E it may be attached directly to the front end of the car or to the dashboard, as the case may be, according to the arrangement of the shelf, and in either event it may be a hinged or rigid hasp.

Thus arranged, in placing the box upon the shelf the staple of the hook E must be passed through the slot of the hasp and the two then secured together by the padlock, as before; or

instead of the hasp being secured to the car I claim as new, and desire to secure by Let the hook or staple may be secured thereto and ters Patent, is-

the hasp to the box, and the two then secured The combination, with a drivers changetogether, as before. box, of a locking device, substantially as de- By eitherof these means the change-box can scribed, for the purpose set forth. be temporarily secured to the car to prevent J. B. SLAWSON. it from being stolen; or, when required, can be removed at pleasure by the driver, con- Witnesses: ductor, or other authorized person. A. MOCALLUM,

Having thus described my invention, what 1 1?. HANNAY. 

